I've Come to Burn Your Kingdom Down
by AngelBornOfHell
Summary: Volatile. Unsettling. Dangerous. Stubborn. I've been called all of it before, and more, whispered behind silk screens and ebony doors and painted fans and furtive hands. I've been called all of it and worse. But it doesn't matter. One day, they will all call me queen.
1. Prologue

Nobody who looks at me ever sees me.

I know that this sounds melodramatic, but kindly hear me out. Nobody who looks at me ever sees me. They see my once-insane, now-unstable, formerly-incarcerated aunt because I am the second child, the prodigious firebending little sister of a first-born son who is much more pleasant than I am. This in and of itself would not be so bad. My father is Fire Lord Zuko. It is only natural that at least one of children be able to bend fire. Unfortunately for me, the legacy of the last firebending princess is all too fresh in everyone's minds. It does not help that my parents named me Seika. Blue fire. Honestly. They named by brother Kaizen, change for the better. But I couldn't have such an innocuous, uplifting name. No, I had to be "blue fire." Father told me there were two parts behind their reasoning. It was meant to be romantic, blue to reflect my mother's Water Tribe heritage and fire, for obvious reasons. Then I was born with blue eyes, and they just couldn't resist. That name could be excused. It was only a name, and my parents' reasoning satisfied the court. Just romantic symbolism. It all went to hell when I started bending blue fire. The last firebending princess bent blue fire, and she was unquestionably insane.

* * *

I wasn't trying to. I was thirteen and angry and I had just found out that the young lady my brother was courting at the time was secretly mocking him for being a Waterbender. She was only continuing their relationship because he was the Crown Prince. I could've let that go. I could've simply told Kaizen, told my parents, have her sent from court in disgrace. But then she started whispering that my mother was a whore, that she used that weapon between her legs and armed herself with the Fire Lord's seed, that she snagged him with a baby and kept him tied down with a firstborn son. I was thirteen, and I knew what a whore was. I was not on good terms with my mother, I never was, but she was no whore. I don't know how it happened. One second I was standing outside her room, listening to her gossip with the other aristocratic young ladies, and the next, the screens of her room were burning bright blue. They were all evacuated safely. But nobody ever looked at me the same ever again.

They knew it wasn't my aunt. She was on Ember Island, safely ensconced in the summer palace. There were only two powerful Firebenders in the palace, and it was a known fact that my father did not bend blue fire. Besides, it would be preposterous to assume that the Fire Lord would attempt to immolate the daughters of some of the Fire Nation's highest-ranking noblemen. So the blame fell to me. Father believed me when I said it was an accident. My mother told me she deeply appreciated the fact that I was so enraged by the slights against her honor, but I could see the trepidation in her eyes. My mother had always despaired of me, that I know. That was the day my mother began to fear me.

* * *

It has been four years since the incident, and the issue of succession has arisen. In theory, there wouldn't be an issue. My parents have a first-born son who is mentally and physically healthy, who is loved by the people and nobility both, who is handsome and dashing and intelligent. He looks proper Fire Nation, too, with his golden eyes and dark hair. There is only one problem. Kaizen is a Waterbender. The spirits would do this to our family. For once, the royal family isn't plagued by tragedy, and our crown prince is a Waterbender. The Fire Lord can't not bend fire. Not only does the crown prince not bend fire, he bends the entirely opposite element. The Fire Nation cannot have a Water Lord. But the royal family has a second child. A second, firebending child. But that second, firebending child is unfortunately a girl. And everyone remembers what it was like the last time the prodigious firebending younger sister almost ascended the throne over her older, more level-headed brother.

* * *

This leaves our family in quite the state. Father won't live forever, and if - spirits forbid - something should happen to him before we figure out this whole mess, it'll be the start of another war, and the Fire Nation can't afford to go starting any more wars. Father wants stability and a smooth transition. He won't stand for his country going to ruin over an inheritance, not after after the price he's paid for peace. And he's paid quite a bit: his mother, his father, his sister, his cousin, his childhood, his face. He has no problem with Kaizen being a Waterbender. None of us do. I don't think my brother's future subjects would mind too much, either. But the ministers and advisors and generals and aristocrats think differently. They like him as a prince, not as a Fire Lord. Mother doesn't see what the fuss is. Mother never sees what the fuss is. She charges headlong toward every problem, insisting on the solution that's on the moral high ground, which incidentally, usually happens to be the least-feasible solution. Mother doesn't understand the finer points of politics very well. I don't blame her. No, actually, I do. She may not have grown up in court, her childhood may have been based on operating off a higher moral ground, but she married the Fire Lord. She knew what she was getting herself into. And she's been the Fire Lady for over twenty years, for more than half her life. She's got no excuse. Kaizen wants the throne. Of course he does, it's his birthright. But he's told me, he's willing to give it up if it means everyone else will be happier and peace is maintained. He's a lot like Father. And what do I want? I want the council to stop dismissing what I have to say simply because I'm a girl, because I remind them of my aunt. I want my existence to be more than an uncomfortable truth. I want to be seen. I want to be queen.


	2. To Be a Princess

To be a princess is the ultimate dream of many young girls across the lands. If only they knew. To be a princess is to be an accessory, a tool, a weapon, to be a jack-of-all-trades wrapped in silk and hairpins. Allow me to elaborate.

In a month's time, my family will be hosting our winter state dinner. My least favorite state dinner, mainly because it's Mother's favorite. Mother insists on pulling out all the stops for the winter dinner, and it drives me absolutely insane. She takes great joy in the preparations, the arranging of decorations, the creating of menus, the ordering of clothes.

I suspect it's because she never got a chance to fully explore her love of homemaking while on the run with the Avatar. Now that she's the Fire Lady, with a world of resources and near-endless financial backing at her fingertips, she goes entirely overboard. I don't mind the preparations much, not until she starts panicking and snapping and waving textiles and flowers about. Like now.

"Zuko!"

Father snaps his head up from his dinner.

"Wha- Yes, Katara?"

"Were you even _listening_ to me?"

"Um...uh...you were asking me about...tablecloths? Because we don't really use-"

Mother scowls and Father winces, effectively silenced.

"_Draperies_, Zuko. _Draperies_."

"Oh. Right."

"Now that I have your attention, which one do you think looks better?"

Mother holds up two swatches of satin cloth. One of them's cobalt satin. It looks like Mother's eyes, actually. The other's a deep midnight blue.

"I was thinking of draping these in swags between the columns of the grand ballroom, but I don't know which one..."

Father stares blankly at the swatches and swallows nervously. Mother should know better than to ask Father about color coordination. He knows next to nothing about differing hues and contrasting shades, not when his outfits are laid out daily by Mother and his valet. His wardrobe revolves mainly around three colors: black, gold, and dark red. Besides, being the Fire Lord doesn't leave for much time to learn how to identify the subtle differences between cobalt and midnight blue.

"Um...er...uh..."

"_Well?!_"

"The midnight blue," I cut in, effectively saving Father from a metaphorical night on the couch. Mother holds up one swatch, then the other, narrowing her eyes in contemplation.

"Really? You think?"

"It goes better with the black and gold of the columns, it looks less tacky next to the red walls, and the fire shines better off it."

Mother positively beams in satisfaction and delight.

"You're right! Thank you so much for your input, Seika."

Kaizen and Father turn to me at the same time, expectantly. It's hard to pull off dismissive nonchalance when both my brother and father are looking at me with such_ hope_.

"Hm."

But not impossible.

Mother's grin falters a little. Father sighs and turns back to his dinner. Kaizen shoots me a reproachful glance. I manage to shrug it off. I always do. What did they expect, anyways?

* * *

The next few weeks are a flurry of preparations. Mother's running around like a glorified homemaker. It's exhausting.

As a child, I simply hid in my room. I was too young to attend the state dinners anyways, so I didn't have to do anything. Unfortunately, since I made my "debut into society" last year, I'll have to attend this year, and not just the dinner, but the after-dinner mingling and socialization. That's always been Kaizen's forte. Chatting up dignitaries, charming their wives, befriending their sons, and dazzling their daughters. The perfect prince. He would make an excellent Fire Lord. But the council sees his waterbending and thinks that he shouldn't be allowed to claim his birthright.

Bending's supposed to be a gift from the spirits. That's what Mother says. That's what Avatar Aang says. That's what Grandfather Iroh says. But for me and Kaizen, bending's a curse. They see blue fire and they see a mad girl. They see water and they see an unfit crown prince. When I was little, I prayed so hard for the spirits to switch us, for them to give Kaizen the fire and give me water. Maybe then Mother wouldn't be so exasperated, maybe people wouldn't be so afraid of me, maybe the council would see that Kaizen would make a good Fire Lord. But Father found me praying one day and told me that it didn't work like that. So I stopped praying. I started practicing.

* * *

It's not that I'm bad at mingling and talking for hours about nothing. I'm a princess. You can't be a seventeen-year-old princess in the Fire Nation court without being devastatingly fluent in the art of conversation. I had a private tutor who taught me how to carry on engaging conversations on the topic of hairstyles and light discussions of current affairs without offending anyone. Mother thought a private tutor unnecessary, but Father insisted. He knew exactly how treacherous and boring court politics could be, and he knew that he himself was not adept at navigating the various and numerous metaphorical landmines constantly planted amongst courtiers.

See, being at court is almost like dancing. There are a hundred controversial topics to avoid, a thousand awkward questions to deflect, and a million strands of gossip to not trip over at any given time.

It takes practice to never slip, never trip, never say more than you mean, and I've practiced. I'm a princess. Simply being born into the highest echelon of society isn't enough if you're a princess. If you can't talk your way into the good graces of the aristocracy, you're nothing more than a royal spare, a dull, dumb doll to be showered with the perfunctory compliments. You're no credit to your family, no use. Worthless.

But you're still a princess, still royalty. You'll marry well, or well enough. Noblemen want a wife who knows exactly what to say, who can help them win power through charm and wit. You'll marry some ancient general that has no need of a charming wife. If you're lucky, if you're sweet and pretty, maybe you'll do better and maybe you'll win allies that way. But you're still worthless.

And even if you're smart and pretty and charming, you'll still marry down. You'll take your husband's name and you'll still be a princess in theory, but from then on, you're a duchess, or a marchioness, or whatever. Your brother, the prince, he'll always be the prince no matter who he marries. You'll only be a princess in name. You won't ever be as royal as you used to be.

* * *

Mother could say whatever she wanted and get away with it because she was the Fire Lady. Kaizen never said anything inappropriate in public. But I had a tendency of mouthing off when I was little, and Father knew that while friends and family found it harmless - adorable, even - it simply wouldn't do at court. So he found me a tutor, and that tutor was none other than Aunt Mai. She was someone that both Mother and Father trusted to teach me about court intrigue without completely ruining my childhood and turning me into a paranoid, manipulative cynic. But you don't live through ten years of tutelage under one of the most skilled courtiers in the Fire Nation without coming out at least a little cynical and a lot manipulative. You're never paranoid, though. You don't have to be, when you know everything.

* * *

Anyways, I have to get a new gown made for the dinner. Mother's been dropping hints about wanting to see me in blue. Says it'll bring out my eyes. Wearing blue, however, means matching with Mother, and that would be a travesty that I simply will not allow. Wearing blue might mean that I'll match with everyone, actually, since anyone who's anyone knows that the Fire Lady places great personal value on the Winter State Dinner, so they'll all wear some sort of blue to match with the theme and please her. No, I'll need to find some sort of winter color that isn't blue. Or white. White's simply out of the question. Grey looks bad with my complexion, and it'll clash with the color scheme of the house. Silver...is tacky. And outrageously expensive. So what...oh. _Oh_. Yes. That'll do. That'll do _just fine_.


End file.
